Zootopia review: It's good and bad in a way that only a city of dreams (insert Mumbai or New York here) can be!

WFilm: Zootopia
Directed by: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush
Voiced by: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, JK Simmons, Jenny Slate, Shakira
​Rating: *** (Three stars)

What it's about:

In the real world, Judy Hopps (Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Bateman) would never have got along. Well, who expects a rabbit and a fox to, anyway? Natural-born enemies and all that. One's always going to be the predator and the other, the prey. But no, small-town gal and general do-gooder Judy Hops didn't get the memo. One bullying incident later, this bunny rabbit decided she was going to be a cop and not let anything or anyone stop her. And it's not like her parents didn't try to. They did, but failed. She signed on for police academy and after several failures (practice does make perfect, apparently), topped her class.
Her first day in Zootopia, the city she's always dreamed of, and Judy's starry-eyed. Day One at work and the disillusionment sets in. After all, being on parking duty is boring and everybody hates you. Soon, she adds hustler fox Nick Wilde (Bateman) to that list. She unwittingly helps him in a con and later, learns an important lesson in hustling.
A 'missing animals' case gets the ball rolling, and much to her police chief, Bogo's disapproval, is asked by the Assistant Mayor (Slate) to look into it. Bogo gives her 48 hours. Girl's a good detective and Judy quickly gets Nick to (reluctantly) help her, because he was the last person to see one of the victims.
Foxes don't help rabbits, usually, but Judy's got some dirt on Nick and he complies. But for how long? And does Judy lose her badge?
Obviously not. But hey, you probably already knew that. And if not, you probably are a kid who doesn't know any better.
But you do, and you tag along to see where this goes....

What's good: 
Zootopia is everything one would imagine it to be. It's good and bad in a way that only a city of dreams (insert Mumbai or New York here) can be. Of course, there's the razzle and dazzle and people might seem to get along like a well-oiled machine, but look beneath the cracks and you're face-to-face with uncomfortable truths. Cities that shine do have murky underbellies. There are always players and there's always a game. And then, there are the ordinary good-hearted folk like Judy and a wily, yet decent crook like Nick who want to do the right thing. That's where Zootopia really gets real. No sugarcoating. There are good and there are bad people. 
An urban fable, yes. But one that's also a morality tale, of sorts. I'd like to say it's not preachy, but it is. In its own way, kinda... There are definitely good points made... women empowerment, discrimination, hate politics and more find subtle mentions, but even a fifth grade kid can figure that out. 
The animation is notches above most of the riff-raff you see these days and is definitely entertaining... in parts (that sloth scene, for example, is a winner). Nods to The Godfather and Breaking Bad will have a few people in the audience chortling, but it is the general sense of bonhomie permeating through the very real problems Zootopia discusses, that makes it a great watching experience.
The voice cast is stellar, to say the least. And that perfunctory end song by a pop artiste is also all good.

What's not:
But there's also that unshakeable feeling that they could have had a stronger screenplay, tighter (and non-repetitive) gags and a rather predictable storyline.

What to do:
Zootopia is the sort of film that wants to make a point and even does it well, but it also does leave you a little cynical by the end of it. But hey, that's life!